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Interesting People
Did You Ever Hear a Story You Wish You Hadn’t?
The simple pleasure of meeting ordinary yet extraordinary people
Last week, the internet where I’m house and pet sitting just decided to up and quit working. Poof. One minute it’s there and the next it’s not. Then, of course, comes all the “unplug it and plug it back in” buffoonery, calling the homeowner, and attempts at resetting the system by the internet company, to no avail.
Finally, everyone involved correctly assessed this was a situation that went far beyond what a moronic end user like me could handle and sent out one of their finest technicians. When I opened the door, there stood a gentleman with tufts of graying hair and the rugged face of a man who has seen a thing or two. Turns out, he was a friendly guy with a gift of gab and plenty of stories to tell. Just my kinda person, in other words.
He asked me what I did for a living, besides the house and pet sitting thing, and I went ahead and told him. Not always, but quite often, when I tell people I’m a writer/editor/publisher, the news just seems to work like instant Ex-lax to the mouth. They are willing and more than ready to spill forth the best of what they got as far as colorful stories —and I consider this to be both a great fortune and a…
